Union declines offer, MLB to implement season
The Major League Baseball Players Association voted overwhelming Monday to turn down ownership’s latest proposal for a 60-game season, prompting the league to announce it will implement a season of an unspecified length.
Players voted, 33-5, to turn down a proposal for 60 games with full pro-rated play that management said was the most that made sense at this late date with COVID-19 spikes in several day and several positive tests over the past week among players working out at team facilities in Florida and Arizona. The 38 players voting consisted of representatives from each of the 30 clubs as well as an 8-man executive board.
After taking the lopsided vote, the players union released this statement:
“The MLBPA Executive Board met multiple times in recent days to assess the status of our efforts to resume the 2020 season.
“Earlier this evening, the full Board reaffirmed the players’ eagerness to return to work as soon and as safely as possible. To that end we anticipate finalizing a comprehensive set of health and safety protocols with Major League Baseball in the coming days, and we await word from the league on the resumption of spring training camps and a proposed 2020 schedule.
“While we had hoped to reach a revised back to work agreement with the league, the Players remain fully committed to proceeding under our current agreement and getting back on the field for the fans, for the game, and for each other.”
MLB owners then held a conference call and later released the following statement, making sure to list the "significant benefits" that players turned down:
"Today, the Major League Baseball Players Association informed us that they have rejected the agreement framework developed by Commissioner (Rob) Manfred and (union director) Tony
Clark. Needless to say, we are disappointed by this development.
"The framework provided an opportunity for MLB and its players to work together to confront the difficulties and challenges presented by the pandemic. It gave our fans the chance to see an exciting new postseason format. And, it offered players significant benefits including:
1. The universal DH for two years.
2. A guaranteed $25 million in playoff pools in 2020.
3. $33 million in forgiven salary advances that would increase the take home pay of 61% of Major League players. 4. Overall earnings for players of 104 percent of prorated salary.
5. Over the last two days, MLB agreed to remove expanded postseason in 2021 in order to address player concerns.
"In view of this rejection the MLB clubs have unanimously voted to proceed with the 2020 season under the teams of the March 26th agreement. The provisions listed above will not be operative.
"In order to produce a schedule with a specific number of games, we are asking that the Players Association provide us by 5:00 p.m. (ET) tomorrow with two pieces of information. The first is whether players will be able to report to camp within seven days (by July 1st). The second is whether the Players Association will agree on the Operating Manual which contains the health and safety protocols necessary to give us the best opportunity to conduct and compete our regular season and postseason."
MLB can implement a season at the previously offered 60-game level or at a lower number, based on time getting short to take the field. Players would report to big-league cities for resumption of spring training, expected to cover about three weeks.
Under that time frame, the delayed season would not begin until the end of July. Owners have said they do not want the season to extend beyond September out of concerns of a second wave of COVID-19 that could shut down the playoffs.
By not agreeing to terms for the 2020 season and forcing implementation by Manfred, the players union kept its right to file a grievance against owners, claiming bad-faith negotiating. Players have accused owners of dragging out negotiations until there wasn’t enough time left to play the maximum number of games without stretching the postseason into November.
Despite a March 26 agreement that players insisted guaranteed full pro-rated pay for all games played, owners made offers for lower percentages that were turned them down every time. Owners claimed the more games they played under full pro rata circumstances, the more money they would lose with no fans in the stands.
Failure to find common ground during a pandemic doesn’t bode well for negotiations next year when the current Collective Bargaining Agreement expires after that season.